Articles in ‘Community’

Students, Staff, parents, caregivers, whānau and Papakura Community, · Kia ora whānau, Talofa lava, Mālō e lelei, Kia Orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Bula Vinaka, Namaste, · You may be aware that Papakura High School has been under Limited Statutory Management since January 2014 and other forms of intervention since 2009, this means there has been a Ministry of Education appointed advisor to the Principal and Board in place. · As of today, 1…

Fire and Emergency New Zealand urges households, lifestyle block owners and landowners not to burn outdoor fires during lockdown, to save firefighters having to respond to calls from anxious neighbours and break their COVID-19 bubbles. · Fire and Emergency has responded to more than 98 calls involving fires in Auckland since lockdown kicked in last Wednesday. Eight were vegetation fires, 52 were building fires, and 38 were other fires such as…

Please look after yourself and your family and keep an eye out for your neighbours. You can contact me at andrew@baylymp.co.nz if you need a hand.

Most of us will have gone to a beach, found a treasured shell chosen for its vivid colours, amazing markings or uniformity of natural design and kept it in a special hiding place, but not many of us will have gone on to collect in excess of 17,000 of them, from around the world. Local man Doug Snook has done just that, and his house is now a veritable museum of all things belonging to the world of conchology. All intrinsically and…

Members of three volunteer fire brigades – Tuakau, Pokeno, and Onewhero attended a benefit social night last Saturday (3 July 2021), in time for Matariki when we honour and remember loved ones who are no longer with us. The event was organised for the crews and whānau to acknowledge the impacts associated with the loss of loved ones and colleagues and to raise mental health awareness. · The organising committee wished to demonstrate…

When 3 year old Cruz told his Mum in 2016 that he wanted to grow his hair until it touched the ground and then shave it all off and give it to the $2 shop, so they could make wigs for people with cancer, she could have been forgiven for thinking it was all just a pipe dream. Fast forward to June 2021 and the now 7 year old Cruz has done just that and fundraised over $2,000 in the process! Cruz started growing his hair, originally to be a…

Liana Smith is a local Glenbrook girl in the middle of a truly once in a life time type of adventure, aiming to complete an Ultra Marathon swimming challenge known as the Triple Crown, and joining an elite group of only seven others who have completed the challenge to date. The Triple Crown is made up of three of NZ’s most iconic and historically important Ultra Marathon swims - being Lake Taupo (40km), Cook Strait (26km) and Foveaux Strait…

It was Nelson Mandela that said, ‘Since the dawn of history, mankind has honoured and respected brave and honest people’. Certainly the announcement of the New Zealand Royal honours is highly anticipated. Announced twice a year – on the official Queen’s Birthday in early June and New Year’s Eve – the awards recognise New Zealanders who have served their country or who have made significant achievements in their lives. · Usually the list is…

When the current and returning members of the Waiuku Golf club gather to play at the Club’s 100th Year centennial celebration weekend in June, they will be thankful that the hazards they encounter are not hoof marks from cattle and sheep and fences around all the greens and gullies full of tea-tree and prickly blackberries as was the case in the early years of the course. Certainly not ideal for ball retrieval! The club has its origins as far…

For over a decade Franklin’s local historical societies have campaigned to save the station building but finally they have admitted defeat. The building will be lost to the district it has served for more than one hundred years. It was the oldest publicly accessible building in the town. It became impossible to progress the plan for restoration and repurposing of the building without KiwiRail’s assurance it could be returned to the railway area…